Girls Basketball: Tam Edges San Marin in Overtime

With a pair of already in the books, Tuesday night’s Marin County Athletic League girls basketball playoff showdown between Tam High and San Marin had the makings of a thriller.

The fourth-seeded Hawks and the fifth-seeded Mustangs didn’t disappoint, as Tam snapped out of a first-half haze at home and roared back with a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter, holding off a valiant San Marin comeback and surviving overtime for a 53-50 win.

The Hawks move on to the MCAL semifinals and will play top-seeded Branson at Redwood High Thursday at 5:30 p.m., while the Mustangs will wait and hope to be included in the North Coast Section Division III playoffs when brackets are unveiled Sunday.

Whether it was the dreary weather or San Marin’s zone defense, Tam was stuck in a funk in the first half. Tam coach Mike Evans urged his players at halftime to get more aggressive offensively, move the ball and get better shots. They did just that.

The Hawks also switched to a trapping defense that managed to keep the ball out of powerhouse post player Leeann Alferness’ hands down the stretch. Alferness, who came into the game averaging an MCAL-leading 16 points and 11 rebounds a game, finished with 21 points.

“They started trapping and running people at the ball,” said San Marin coach Dan Lucia. “We didn’t attack that trap enough in the second half.”

San Marin guard Sarah Lucia had considerable success early on, driving and dishing to Alferness and Gabrielle Pflugradt on multiple occasions. San Marin held an 18-12 lead at half, and Lucia and Alferness pushed the Mustangs to a 30-21 lead early in the third quarter, their largest of the game.

But then Tam found its groove. Britt Lindberg’s baseline jumper cut it to 30-29, and then junior forward Jenna May hit three baseline buckets, hitting two mid-range jumpers and a baseline drive, capping a 12-0 drive to give Tam a 33-30 lead.

San Marin battled back, however, with Lucia getting a key steal and forward Nicole Roberts nabbing a key putback on a missed free throw to tie it up at 38. The teams each hit a free throw in the waning seconds of regulation, with Pflugradt tying it up at 39 after Alferness drew a double team and dished it to her down low.

Hallie Brauner missed a tough runner as the buzzer sounded. She finished with 17 points and five steals for Tam.

Tam got on the board first in OT, with Brauner hitting a free throw and then a driving layup for a 42-39 lead. She then made a number of slashing moves to the basket on successive possessions and hit seven of eight free throws down the stretch to keep San Marin at bay.

The Mustangs refused to go away, however, with Alferness hitting a driving layup and Bridget Pacchetti scoring a pair of buckets, including the final shot of the night to make it 53-50.

“They just got a lot more aggressive against our zone in the second half,” Dan Lucia said. “They started to attack and they found some gaps.”

While Tam lives to fight another day, San Marin will wait on the NCS brackets. Regardless, the Mustangs hold about as much promise for next season as any team in the MCAL. Alferness returns for her senior season as the best player in the league, and the Mustangs won’t lose a single player to graduation.

“I told them in November that we were going to lose a lot of games this year because we are so young,” Lucia said. “But we played hard all year and I’m really proud of them.”